Pages

Monday, November 9, 2015

Preparing for a Radio Interview

On Saturday, October 24, 2015, Travis Owen Bryan had me on
his LIVE Christian radio broadcast. I'd been on once before, so I knew the
basic format.

When his friend, Jay Mather, connected us the first time, I
didn't know what to expect other than we'd be talking about my books. What are
some of the ways I could have prepared and lessened the nervousness?

1.Pray. Well, I did
that - quite a bit. I get specific, asking the Lord to give me wisdom and cause
my words to glorify Him.

2.The next time I'm
invited to go on a radio show, I'll listen to a sample recording or tune in to
an actual broadcast. If I'd done that, I would have known:

A.Travis values an author's testimony. He wants
to know aboutour
walk with the Lord and how it impacts our writing.

B.He asks probing questions about what it's
like to be a writer, our journey topublication, and what kind of advice we'd
have for aspiring authors.

C.I'd also know that he gives plenty of time to
answer his questions.

3.Notes - It's
always good to have a page or two to jog your memory. Our minds can go blank in
a fast-paced interview, so these are helpful tools to break through the brain
fog. The last time I was on the show, I wrote down the following items:

A.A short blurb about Out of the Mist, the
third book of The Moses Trilogy.

B.How I felt about finishing the trilogy - both
relieved and bittersweet.

C.Where readers could find my books and connect
with me.

4.I'd think about
written interviews I've done, what I like to know as a reader, and give plenty
of takeaways for the listener.

5.A glass of water and hard candy are good things to have on hand in case your throat gets dry.

With a little planning, a radio interview can be a fun and rewarding experience. The nice part: You don't have to worry about how you look.
:)

My thanks to Travis Owen
Bryan, of the LIVE show, in Elkton,
KY, for being such a great host.

Writers:Have you
ever been on the radio? How did you prepare?

Readers:Have
you done any public speaking? How did you keep stage fright away